The following Toyota recall notice reminds me that many technicians are either unaware or don’t pay attention to the design of the interior garnish mouldings. Their correct placement is vital to the proper deployment of the side air curtains.

These are the decorative interior “A” pillar mouldings that many technicians remove to aid in the cut out and removal of the windshield. Some of these are easily removed and their removal gives peace of mind to the technician who now doesn’t have to worry about damaging them during the installation. However, some mouldings are attached to the body frame by a secondary attachment that keep them from becoming a projectile and hurting the passengers if the side curtain air bags are deployed.

Any vehicle that is equipped with an air curtain has a method by which the interior mouldings are displaced for deployment, but not completely detached. The methods used to retain the feature after displacement are straps which are fastened to the “A” pillar. These can be progressive releasing clips, or two-stage clips. Whichever, method is used to retain the moulding, the technician must make sure that they are properly re-installed after removal.

The straps used to hold the mouldings are usually made of heavy fabric and are attached to the “A” pillar with the use of fasteners like a screw or bolt. When the air bag is deployed, the moulding is blown away from the frame but the strap holds it in place. The progressive-clip system is one that uses progressively stronger retainers that release in the proper order as the air curtain is deployed. The two-stage clip is one that releases its first stage to move the moulding away from the pillar to allow deployment, but the second stage holds it from completely detaching.

The removal of these mouldings can be a challenge to the automotive glass technician, but with today’s heated windshields and other performance technology, you may have to remove them to disconnect the wiring. However, properly used modern power tools and others (like wire-out tools) will allow the technician to bypass the removal of the “A” pillar mouldings most of the time. This installation does require that the well-equipped automotive glass shop and mobile unit has a selection of clips and fasteners for the proper replacement of moulding retention systems, if necessary.

Report Receipt Date: APRIL 22, 2015

NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V240000

Component(s): STRUCTURE

Potential Number of Units Affected: 387

Vehicle Make, Model, Model Year(s)

TOYOTA SIENNA 2015

Manufacturer: Gulf States Toyota Inc.

SUMMARY:

Gulf States Toyota Inc. (GST) is recalling certain model year 2015 Toyota Sienna vehicles manufactured January 23, 2015 to April 13, 2015, and equipped with non-Toyota-brand overhead entertainment accessories installed by GST. During reassembly of the interior after the overhead entertainment system installation, a trim panel securing clip may have been reused instead of being replaced.

CONSEQUENCE:

If the clip was damaged during the entertainment system installation, in the event of a side curtain air bag deployment, the trim panel may detach and strike one of the vehicle occupants, increasing the risk of injury.

REMEDY:

GST will notify owners, and dealers will replace the trim panel securing clip, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin June 8, 2015. Owners may contact GST customer service at 1-800-444-1074. GST’s number for this recall is 15R1.

NOTES:

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

I read a thread on glassBYTEs.com™ the other week titled “2014 Hyundai Sonata Stress Cracks,” and a couple of things came to mind. Some of you know that my son Jay works for a large dealership group here in Madison, Wis. One of the makes his dealership sells is Hyundai. This past week Jay told me that he has personally witnessed a number of 2012, 2013 and 2014 Hyundai vehicles with stress cracks in the windshields. Although Jay had a couple of thoughts on the cause of the breaks, I needed to see it myself before making a diagnosis.

Another thing he said piqued my interest. He said that the new Hyundai windshields were more difficult to install now due to the thinness of the urethane bead between the glass and the pinchweld. He said the thin bead makes the glass more difficult to cut out. According to Jay, it is hard to get a cold knife blade under the glass, and the glass breaks up easily during removal. Interesting.

A unibody vehicle is one that has a great deal of body movement as it travels a roadway. It ebbs and flows with the roadway, twisting and turning in all directions. All of the body panels must be manufactured to take this movement into consideration. The sheet metal of the body has a certain amount of flexibility in its movement but the glass panels are less flexible. To account for the movement of the body in relation to the stationary glass parts, the engineers use the urethane adhesive to cushion and allow the movement of the glass in the opening. If the urethane bead is thin or too stiff, the glass will not move sufficiently and may stress break. Could this be the reason for an increase of stress breaks in the Hyundai?

Another observation made is that at Jay’s dealership they used to buy aftermarket glass for Hyundai replacements, but they found that aftermarket glass was frequently out-of-bend, so they went back to using OEM glass. If the aftermarket glass is slightly out-of-bend, then patting or spanking the glass to seal it could cause a break during installation. In addition, glass that is out-of-bend will give when patting it into place, but it will then spring back, causing the urethane to string out. This may cause leaks or bonding issues. It is always better to smooth out the glass to seal rather than patting or spanking it into place.

Here are a couple of recalls that might be of interest to an auto glass technician.

Ram ProMaster

The first is the Ram ProMaster for 2015. The manufacturing of the side air curtain uses a tape wrap that aids in its installation during the assembly process. The recall is specific as to its repair of the issue. The dealer is instructed to remove the offending tape from the air curtain as described in the Recall Communication # R19041715 below.

The reason that this may be of interest to the technician is because the technician frequently removes the interior garnish moldings during the replacement of the windshield or front vent part and the air curtain is exposed. Due to the technicians’ close proximity to the air bag system and the removal of the molding, it may be misconstrued that the technician may have something to do with the malfunction of the air curtain. This is obviously not the case and the technician should call attention to the recall before starting the installation. The formal recall text is below:

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2015 Ram ProMaster City vehicles manufactured November 6, 2014, to March 17, 2015. The affected cargo and passenger vehicles have side air bag inflatable curtains that, due to an installation issue, may not deploy properly. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 214, “Side Impact Protection.”

CONSEQUENCE:

In the event of a crash, side air bag inflatable curtains that do not deploy properly may increase the risk of vehicle occupant injury.

REMEDY:

Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will modify the installation of side air bag inflatable curtains, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on June 12, 2015. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler’s number for this recall is R19.

NOTES:

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

New Safety Recall Advanced Communication – R19041715

FCA US LLC announced a safety recall on certain 2015 model year (VM) RAM ProMaster City cargo and passenger vehicles.

Some of the above vehicles may have “A” pillar Side Air Bag Inflatable Curtains (SABIC) that were manufactured with the incorrect type of assembly tape. The assembly tape may not allow the airbag to deploy as intended. This could cause an increased chance of injury during certain crash events. This may fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 214, “Side Impact Protection”.

FCA will conduct a voluntary safety recall on all involved vehicles to remove the incorrect assembly tape from the “A” pillar Side Air Bag Inflatable Curtains (SABIC).

Dealers will be notified of the launch of this safety recall by way of established methods used in the past.

We ask that you please take the time to ensure that your personnel are aware of this communication and are prepared to execute a customer friendly process for inquiries on involved vehicles. Customer

Services Field Operations, FCA US LLC

Mitsubishi Vehicles

The next issues is with the Mitsubishi Lancer and Outlander models. They have an Electronic Control Unit that is unstable and may cause the wipers, head lights and tail lights to malfunction and they also have a problem with the defroster blowers not working.

If the Technician notices that the wipers or defrosters do not work properly during the pre-inspection, it is likely the ECU component is not working or the blower motor needs replacing. The technician should notify the owner and explain the recall before beginning the installation. The full recall text is below:

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (Mitsubishi) is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 Mitsubishi Lancer vehicles manufactured January 12, 2009, to July 6, 2010, 2009-2010 Outlander vehicles manufactured January 12, 2009, to August 27, 2010, 2010 Lancer Sportback vehicles manufactured June 17, 2009, to June 8, 2010, and 2010 Lancer Evolution vehicles manufactured July 14, 2009, to August 4, 2010. The affected vehicles have an electronic control unit (ECU) that controls the head lights, tail lights, and windshield wipers. Due to a manufacturing error, the voltage inside this ECU may be unstable.

CONSEQUENCE:

Unstable voltage could result in intermittent failure of the vehicle’s head lights, tail lights, and windshield wipers. If the headlights and/or windshield wipers fail, the driver could have reduced visibility. If the tail lights fail, the vehicle could be less visible. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.

REMEDY:

Mitsubishi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected ECU, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Mitsubishi customer service at 1-888-648-7820. Mitsubishi’s number for this recall is SR-15-002.

NOTES:

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Failure of the blower motor may reduce the performance of the windshield defroster, diminishing the driver’s visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.

REMEDY:

Mitsubishi will notify owners, and dealers will replace a suspect blower motor, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Mitsubishi customer service at 1-888-648-7820. Mitsubishi’s number for this recall is SR-15-003.

NOTES:

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.